What is DCSA’s Mirador IT System and What Does it Check in Continuous Vetting

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is responsible for implementing Continuous Vetting (CV) for DoD security clearance holders once they become eligible for access to classified information. One piece of the continuous vetting process is enrollment into the FBI’s Rap Back program which provides notifications to the clearance granting agency whenever someone affiliated with them gets arrested. Another piece of CV is accomplished by an IT system called Mirador, which conducts automated checks of commercial and government databases on clearances holders who are enrolled in CV. Currently, it is a stand-alone system that was developed and used for Continuous Evaluation. It is the predecessor of the current National Background Investigations System (NBIS) but will eventually be integrated into NBIS.

So, what checks are run by Mirador?

The system currently checks for matches of clearance holder personal identifiers against the following:

1. terrorism watchlists and foreign travel through the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
2. Financial activity through LexisNexis, credit reports and FINCEN
3. Criminal activity through various law enforcement sources
4. Other public records depositories and open sources

When a check gets a hit on a clearance holder’s personal identifiers, it will generate an alert and push it out to the agency holding that person’s clearance. It then gets reviewed by adjudicators who determine what, if any, actions are needed. Some examples of common alerts would be a Transunion credit report showing that the clearance holder has a delinquent debt over a set threshold; flight information from DHS on outbound and inbound flights for foreign travel; civil court cases where the clearance holder is the petitioner or defendant; tax liens or court litigation through Thomson Reuters. These checks are designed to identify and address issues in real-time, which is why it is really important for clearance holders to be aware of their self-reporting requirements as noted in SEAD-3 and any additional agency specific requirements. Best to get ahead of any potential issues before they snowball.